Generation of a severe convective ionospheric storm under stable Rayleigh-Taylor conditions: triggering by meteors?

Kelley, M. C.; Ilma, R. R.

Generation of a severe convective ionospheric storm under stable Rayleigh-Taylor conditions: triggering by meteors?

Abstract

Here we report on four events detected using the Jicamarca Radio Observatory (JRO) over an 18-year period, in which huge convective ionospheric storms (CISs) occur in a stable ionosphere. We argue that these rare events could be initiated by meteor-induced electric fields. The meteor-induced electric fields map to the bottomside of the F region, causing radar echoes and a localized CIS. If and when a localized disturbance reaches 500 km, we argue that it becomes two-dimensionally turbulent and cascades structure to both large and small scales. This leads to long-lasting structure and, almost certainly, to scintillations over a huge range of latitudes some ±15° wide and to 3 m irregularities, which backscatter the VHF radar waves. These structures located at high altitudes are supported by vortices shed by the upwelling bubble in a vortex street.

Date

2016-02

Keywords

Ionosphere , Equatorial ionosphere , Ionospheric irregularities , Ionospheric physics

Citation

Kelley, M. C., & Ilma, R. R. (2016). Generation of a severe convective ionospheric storm under stable Rayleigh-Taylor conditions: triggering by meteors?. Annales Geophysicae, 34 (2), 165-170. https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-34-165-2016